Adjustable resilient floor leveling device

ABSTRACT

A prefabricated floor is supported upon a base surface by a plurality of intermediate elements each positioned upon the surface and under the corners of a plurality of abutting panels. Each intermediate element is in the form of a block which has a center portion from which radiate a plurality of arms. A wedgeshaped recess is formed in the underside of each arm with the deepest portion of the recess being away from the center of the block. A resilient tubular member is in each recess and has a rod attached thereto. The rod passes through end openings in the recesses outwardly of the block so that the tubular members can be displaced within their respective grooves exteriorly of the block.

[451 Mar. 26, 1974 United States Patent [191 Miiller et a].

[ ADJUSTABLE RESILIENT FLOOR LEVELING DEVICE Primary Examiner-Othell M. Simpson Assistant Examiner-Robert C. Watson [75] Inventors: Ludwig Miiller, Cologne; Hans Schmitz laden/Cologne, both of Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Edmund M. Jaskrewrcz Germany [5 7] ABSTRACT A prefabricated floor is supported upon a base surface [73] Assignee: Kunststoffwerk Gebruder Anger GmbH & Co., Munich, Germany June 5, 1972 by a plurality of intermediate elements each posi- [22] Flled' tioned upon the surface and under the corners of a plurality of abutting panels. Each intermediate element is in the form of a block which has a center portion from which radiate a plurality of arms. A wedgeshaped recess is formed in the underside of each arm mm My 0 LE 8 m 8 4 m 0 mm 8 a mm 9 "u 5 u 2 mm in. 1 u wa A Um 1]] 121 255 with the deepest portion of the recess being away from [58] Field of Search..... 254/104, 42; 248/23, 188.2;

the center of the block. A resilient tubular member is in each recess and has a rod attached thereto. The rod passes through end openings in the recesses outward] Y of the block so that the tubular members can be disy of the [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS placed within their respective grooves exteriorl block.

248/1881 10 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures 3,239,218 3/1966 Reeves..,.....................i....... 3,071,887 l/l963 Von Arb. 3,030,730 4/1962 Costar.........,....................

ADJUSTABLE RESILIENT FLOOR LEVELING DEVICE The present invention relates to sound absorbing prefabricated floors, more particularly, to the resilient supporting of prefabricated abutting floor panels upon a base surface.

Resilient floors have been constructed consisting of wood or concrete panels supported on wood or concrete joists by a wide variety of spring and resilient elements, such as coil or leaf springs, and resilient blocks. However, wood floors have the disadvantages of burning and of not adequately muffling sounds caused by persons walking upon them. Also, wooden floors are not particularly sound absorbing with respect to sounds emanating from other sources. Resilient concrete floors have not been acceptable in practice since the concrete panels must be very thick in order to obtain proper sound absorption. This means that heavy masses of concrete must be transported and laid in position. Further, the relatively great thickness of the concrete panels means that additional allowances must be made for the heights of the structures in order that the interior heights of the rooms meet with accepted standards.

A further disadvantage of such prefabricated wood and concrete resilient floors is that considerable difficulties are encountered in leveling panels or other elements comprising the floors. The positioning of wedges or other compensating structures under the panels is a very complicated and time comsuming operation. In order to simplify the leveling operation it has been proposed to at least partially coat the panels with the ulti' mate floor finish. This, however, is disadvantageous in that construction delays are produced and the pouring of grouting material into the seams between adjacent panels may form bridges through which sound is transmitted.

In view of the foregoing disadvantages it has been proposed to form a prefabricated floor wherein the mutually abutting panels of concrete or other material are resiliently supported upon a base surface by means of intermediate elements and the intermediate elements have resilient elements comprising horizontal tubular members. Such a prefabricated floor is relatively inexpensive to assemble and possesses excellent sound absorbing qualities. However, difficulties are encountered during the assembly of the floor since the intermediate members in the form of mutually abutting panels have their joints covered by the upper layer of panels which defines the floor. When it is desired to level the completed floor the tubular elements under the lower intermediate panel layer must be displaced into different positions. Problems arise with this displacement of the tubular elements since the resilient tubular members are not readily accessible and the plates are so heavy that it is not possible to accurately position the resilient tubular elements to obtain a precisely level floor surface.

It is therefore the principal object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved resiliently supported prefabricated floor.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a resiliently supported floor comprising a plurality of panels which can be quickly assembled with a minimum of effort and which can be precisely leveled.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an intermediate element to be disposed between a base surface and floor panels which permits quick and accurate leveling of the completed floor.

The disadvantages of the prior art as described above are eliminated and the objects of the present invention are attained by the prefabricated resiliently supported floor of the present invention. According to the present invention a plurality of abutting floor panels are supported upon a base surface by intermediate elements positioned at the corners of the abutting floor panels. Thus. the intermediate or lower layerof supporting panels of the prior art is eliminated and in their place it is proposed to utilize the blocks according to the present invention. Each block is flat and has a plurality of wedge-shaped recesses in the underside thereof with these recesses extending radially from the center of the block. A resilient tubular member is moveable longitudinally within each recess. A rod extends from each tubular member outwardly of the block through the end of each recess so that each tubular member can be manipulated from a position exteriorly of the block to be displaced within its groove.

The flat block may comprise a central portion from which a plurality of arms extend radially therefrom. The recesses are in the undersides of the 'arms. In order to assure a level floor surface each tubular resilient member may be locked in position by means of a plurality of transversely extending grooves in the bottom surface of each recess and also by a plurality of trans verse grooves in the periphery of an actuating rod. The grooves in the rod may achieve a locking effect with the edges of the opening in the block arms through which the rod passes.

The intermediate elements of the present invention are advantageous since they can be adjusted to a level position by actuation of the rods which extend exteriorly of the blocks. After each block has been individually leveled the floor panels need only be placed in position on the blocks and the floor is completed. The leveling and laying operations are thus quite simple and can be accomplished by relatively unskilled personnel. The costs of labor in assembling the floor are relatively low and the entire space underneath the floor panels is available for the placement of pipes and conduits. For particular purposes, this space may be filled with mineral wool or other insulating or sound absorbing material.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent upon reference to the accompanying description when taken in conjiuction with the following drawings, which are exemplary, wherein;

FIG. 1 is a bottom plan view of an intermediate element according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line II-II of FIG. 1 and showing the resilient tubular element in an adjusted position; and

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the arrangement of the intermediate elements of FIG. 1 under the panels of a completed floor.

Proceeding next to the drawings wherein like reference symbols indicate the same parts throughout the various views a specific embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

As may be seen in FIG. 3 a prefabricated floor according to the present invention comprises a plurality of mutually abutting floor panels 1 which may be of concrete, wood or any other suitable material and blocks or intermediate elements 2 which support the panels. The blocks 2 in turn rest upon tubular spring elements 3.

In the embodiment of the present invention each block 2 comprises three radially extending arms 2b which extend outwardly from a central portion 2a. A wedge-shaped recess 4 is provided in the undersurface of each of the arms as may be seen in FIG. 2. The deepest portion of each wedge-shaped recess is located away from the center of the block or adjacent to the outer edge of the block. A tubular resilient element 3 is positioned in each of the recesses 4 and is moveable along the longitudinal axis of its respective recess. The displacement of this tubular element determines the height of the block 2 and thus is employed in leveling of the floor.

In order that the leveling of each block may be performed from a position exteriorly of the .block each tubular element 3 is connected to a relatively'rigid rod 5 that passes through an opening 6 in a wall portion closing the outer end of recess 4.

In order to eliminate any undesirable movement of the tubular spring element 3 in its recess after leveling has been completed the bottom surface of each recess is provided with a plurality of transverse grooves 7. In addition, each rod 5 has a surface configuration which may comprise threads or small transverse grooves which achieve a locking affect by jamming of the rod in the opening 6.

While the present embodiment discloses a threearmed block it is apparent that such blocks may be provided with other numbers of arms. However, each of the arms or other shapes of the block should be provided with a plurality of radially disposed wedgeshaped recesses which open downwardly and within which are positioned displaceable tubular resilient members.

While the block 2 may be rectangular or square and may have a plurality of recesses formed in its undersurface as described above it is apparent that by constructing each block with a central portion and a plurality of radially extending arms the weight of a block is significantly reduced. This, in turn, considerably reduces transportation costs for shipping the intermediate blocks to construction sites. To facilitate the leveling operation a block with three radially extending arms is particularly convenient.

By providing either grooves on the bottom surface of each recess or a surface configuration on the actuating rods the blocks will be retained permanently in their adjusted positions without the necessity of employing other securing or locking means. Thus, each block is self-contained and can be readily adjusted to a desired height immediately upon being positioned upon subflooring or other form of a base surface. The preise precise to which the individual'blocks are to be adjusted can be determined by the use of suitable instruments to determine a planar surface so that when the floor panels are finally positioned upon the adjusted blocks the result will be a level floor.

It is understood that this invention is susceptible to modification in order to adapt it to different usages and conditions and, accordingly, it is desired to comprehend such modifications within the invention as may fall within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An intermediate leveling element for resiliently and adjustably supporting a prefabricated floor upon a surface, comprising a flat block adapted to be disposed under the corners ofa plurality of abutting floor panels, there being a plurality of wedge-shaped recesses in the underside of the block and extending radially from the center thereof, a resilient tubular member in each recess movable longitudinally therein, and a rod extending from each tubular member outwardly of the block whereby the tubular member can be displaced within its recess exteriorly of the block.

2. An intermediate element as claimed in claim 1 wherein said flat block comprises a central portion and a plurality of arms extending radially therefrom, said recesses being in the undersides of said arms.

3. An intermediate element as claimed in claim 2 comprising three arms.

4. An intermediate element as claimed in claim 1 wherein the deepest portion of each wedge-shaped recess is away from the center of the block.

5. An intermediate element as claimed in claim 4 and comprising a wall portion closing the end of each recess away from the center of the block.

6. An intermediate element as claimed in claim 5 wherein there is an opening in said wall portion and said rod passes through said opening.

7. An intermediate element as claimed in claim 6 wherein each rod extends outwardly of the block and has a surface configuration to produce a locking effect between the rod and its wall portion opening.

8. An intermediate element as claimed in claim 7 wherein said surface configuration comprises small transverse grooves.

9. An intermediate element as claimed in claim 1 wherein the bottom surface of each recess has a rough configuration to retain the tubular member in its adjusted position.

10. An intermediate element as claimed in claim 9 wherein said rough configuration comprises transverse grooves. 

1. An intermediate leveling element for resiliently and adjustably supporting a prefabricated floor upon a surface, comprising a flat block adapted to be disposed under the corners of a plurality of abutting floor panels, there being a plurality of wedge-shaped recesses in the underside of the block and extending radially from the center thereof, a resilient tubular member in each recess movable longitudinally therein, and a rod extending from each tubular member outwardly of the block whereby the tubular member can be displaced within its recess exteriorly of the block.
 2. An intermediate element as claimed in claim 1 wherein said flat block comprises a central portion and a plurality of arms extending radially therefrom, said recesses Being in the undersides of said arms.
 3. An intermediate element as claimed in claim 2 comprising three arms.
 4. An intermediate element as claimed in claim 1 wherein the deepest portion of each wedge-shaped recess is away from the center of the block.
 5. An intermediate element as claimed in claim 4 and comprising a wall portion closing the end of each recess away from the center of the block.
 6. An intermediate element as claimed in claim 5 wherein there is an opening in said wall portion and said rod passes through said opening.
 7. An intermediate element as claimed in claim 6 wherein each rod extends outwardly of the block and has a surface configuration to produce a locking effect between the rod and its wall portion opening.
 8. An intermediate element as claimed in claim 7 wherein said surface configuration comprises small transverse grooves.
 9. An intermediate element as claimed in claim 1 wherein the bottom surface of each recess has a rough configuration to retain the tubular member in its adjusted position.
 10. An intermediate element as claimed in claim 9 wherein said rough configuration comprises transverse grooves. 